How upskilling wealth managers can unleash gen AI’s full potential

How can Canada’s wealth managers make the most of gen AI?

Gen AI holds many use cases for wealth managers. But amplifying its value will look different from one firm to the next. How can you make the most of this emerging tool? Put humans at the centre of your approach. 

What does gen AI mean for Canada’s wealth managers today?

Much like AI before it, gen AI can empower wealth managers to consolidate information quickly and laser-focus on the right opportunities for the right clients. That said, by drawing on large language models (LLMs), gen AI can elevate traditional automation efforts to more strategic levels across the entire pre- and post-client lifecycle.

Case in point? Gen AI can streamline the identification of new sales leads based on a client’s data and current activities. The technology can then create plans to engage those specific clients around unique needs, and surface targeted product or service offerings for advisors to present — that is, next best action (NBA) —enhancing service personalization in meaningful ways.

When lead generation efforts like these turn fruitful, advisors can then lean on gen AI to create a faster and more seamless client onboarding process. In these cases, gen AI verifies identities, performs due diligence checks and confirms necessary documentation — freeing the advisor up to focus on higher-value work, like deepening the client relationship.

Possibilities like these present themselves throughout after-sales service and client retention efforts. For example, EY teams recently employed gen AI across a three-pronged use case to drive both improved client experience and advisor productivity at a Canadian wealth management firm. Specifically, we executed a program to integrate open AI into core platforms, prioritizing use cases on call centre analytics to offer more personalized client experiences more quickly and easily.

Use cases like these are important in a discerning market where Canadian financial services clients overall are increasingly willing to share more personal information in exchange for better or novel services.

Interestingly, it’s not only your clients who stand to gain from these enhancements. Using gen AI also creates opportunities for advisors. From the internal perspective, integrating gen AI opportunities can reduce costs considerably, streamline processes, dial down the reliance on large sales teams and empower advisors to focus on strategic initiatives that foster meaningful engagement with higher-value potential clients. This can help your front-line professionals feel more engaged, which fosters retention while generating bottom-line results.

Wealth management firms that figure out which pre- and post-client-service use cases can be applied at the most strategic points in the client lifecycle can tap into the benefits of gen AI more quickly than competitors. To get there, you must first put people at the heart of gen AI adoption and deployment, prioritizing their needs and empowering them to embrace this technology. That’s how your results really take off.

How can firms empower wealth management professionals to make more of gen AI?

Being future-ready requires wealth management firms to continually invest in the very people who bring those organizations to life. Without investing equally in human-centred learning, your tech investments may fall flat.

Folks must become competent and confident across a number of new areas if they’re going to use gen AI to its full potential. For example, knowing how to engineer an effective prompt can determine the kind of outputs your people will ultimately derive from gen AI. But that may require practice and experience working with the tools.

Granted, this could feel overwhelming. Keep in mind: there are many different ways to put your people first and empower them to lead the industry on the front lines of successful gen AI adoption.

Building programs internally is only one approach. Firms may also purchase required learning and development services, partner with organizations creating these capabilities in the market, integrate with strategic alliances or outsource through managed service providers.

For many firms, a combination of these options may even be the best path forward. What works today can evolve into a different approach tomorrow. As you build up internal capacity around core skillsets to back gen AI adoption, you can shift learning strategies over time. What starts out as a purchased upskilling program could eventually see your own people emerge as stewards of change capable of hosting internal webinars, podcasts or other training activities. A comprehensive and scalable approach like this makes people part of the change and helps them build the organization of the future – all while deploying gen AI’s upsides along the way.

What does gen AI mean for Canada’s wealth managers today?

At EY, we help organizations build gen AI capabilities in the workforce by focusing on upskilling geared to three core areas:

1. Broad-based understanding: Gen AI’s rise will cause the skills required by financial advisors to evolve. Moving forward, financial advisors will need to become more adept at navigating and managing AI-driven tools, while quickly interpreting AI-generated outcomes. It will be important to highlighting the potential benefits, along with the responsibility of ethical activation, data sensitivity and client privacy protection.

Within learning programs, you’ll want to reinforce the need for your advisors to effectively interpret and analyze AI-generated data and how it factors into the strategic decision-making process — and the services they provide to clients. These considerations must factor prominently in learning programs.

2. Tech-friendly mindset: Emphasizing the importance of developing a mindset where technology is seen as an extension of human capabilities, rather than a replacement, helps bring advisors on board. Highlighting continuous learning is also crucial. This cannot be positioned as a one-and-done initiative, but rather: the beginning of an ongoing learning journey designed to support your advisors’ long-term success.

3. Effective client communication: Even as AI becomes more integral in the wealth management space, human communication remains essential. Emphasize the need to upskill advisors in balancing AI recommendations with nuanced human judgement during client interactions. Prompt engineering and learning how to effectively use AI models will be one of the most important skills an advisor can pick up.

Prompt engineering involves advisors communicating effectively with the AI model through high-quality, detailed inputs and questions to facilitate better and more well-rounded results. For example, structuring prompts to get results that are more customized to individual client needs, or that consider the nuances associated with a particular investment choice.

All of this supports gen AI’s ability to surface next best actions over the course of a client relationship. For instance, no code development for technology teams can support your front-line professionals in this regard. Weaving the client communication message into your learning programs can make a big impact for your people and help them illustrate the upsides of this refreshed approach.

What’s the bottom line?

Gen AI brings new possibilities for wealth managers. To effectively deploy this emerging and evolving tool, ground your approach in your people. Invest in their learning now so they are empowered and ready to put gen AI to best and highest use — enhancing their own career experiences and the organization’s success at the very same time.